


The Downfall of Rose Quartz: A Star Destroyers Side Story

by MasakoAkira



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rockstar AU, Anxiety, Death Scene, Depression, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Fighting, Funeral, Love Triangle, Mental Illness, Sadness, Star Destroyers, Star Destroyers: United Kingdom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27146263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasakoAkira/pseuds/MasakoAkira
Summary: This is my take on the backstory of Steven's Parents, Greg Universe and Rose Quartz, from DepressedCarrot's Star Destroyers, a Steven Universe AU.
Kudos: 5





	1. Vice Grip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DepressedCarrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Star Destroyers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25610359) by [DepressedCarrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot). 
  * Inspired by [Star Destroyers: The Summer Ends](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26499754) by [TranscendentalSpaceGem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentalSpaceGem/pseuds/TranscendentalSpaceGem). 
  * Inspired by [Star Destroyers:United Kingdom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586247) by [DepressedCarrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot). 



> This is NOT considered canon, just my interpretation. Please read their work, Star Destroyers and Star Destroyers: United Kingdom, prior to reading this as this pulls A LOT of crucial information from their work. 
> 
> There is a two-shot that goes in between SD and SD:UK by TranscendentalSpaceGem that is considered canon and sets up for parts of the story for SD:UK. 
> 
> I really like the Rockstar AU and thank you for allowing me to write in your AU, DepressedCarrot!

He knew it was a problem from when he was their roadie in the early days as he had caught her a few times in the act. It’s not like he wanted to enable her, but he knew she would do what she always wanted no matter if someone stood in her way or not. Hell, she got with him against her bandmates' wishes despite warning after warning. Pearl didn’t much care for him to begin with. They knew he wasn’t a bad guy, but their warnings were meant more for him than anything else as he didn’t know what he was getting into with her and vice versa.

Greg loved Rose, but she apparently loved her pills more as she wouldn’t or couldn’t stop. There were many discussions over several years of her quitting or at least slowing down as they were both involved in a business that had seen way too many tragedies involving substance abuse. He would hope that she would heed the warnings from those situations, but it didn’t seem like it would get through. Not until it was too late.

It’s like she kept telling herself that she was invincible or at least immune to the effects of taking too many. Rose danced with death a few times in the past, but it didn’t deter her as she was in denial about it. It was as if those experiences were bad dreams and nothing more. Something that could be shoved into the back of her mind with everything else. All the pressure that she placed on herself throughout her career steadily got worse, but as long as she was able to get her fix, she was able to cope with it to a point. She had to maintain her high energetic image and put on a façade that she was living the perfect life with a loving partner and a young son. However, some of those around her knew that it was far from the image. The Gems knew she had a problem, but there would be days when she lashed out at them while under the influence when they, too, asked her to get help. Rose put the band under pressure to keep her secret between them and Greg.

Greg didn’t like the fact that Rose was selfish in that regard. He had been on the receiving end of threats when she wasn’t able to get a hold of her vice or the few times he tried to withhold it from her. He knew it wasn’t the real her speaking when it came down to her saying, venomously, “I hate you!” or tearfully asking “Why are you doing this to me?!” The hurt never faded with each continuing argument they had. If anything, it got worse since they were having to hide it from Steven. They felt as they did well actually keeping up the appearance of the deepest love they had for one another. He did question if he ever knew the real her a few times as most of the time he knew her since he started working for The Gems, she had her habit. The habit that got worse over time...

There was an argument they had shortly before her demise started plastering the morning papers. He sensed that it was something that needed addressing once again. It was like no matter what the conversation held, the result still ended the same: she still had her vice. Sometimes, it would increase for a short amount of time as it was yet something else that added itself onto her mental stress.

The Gems were playing a show for a special event that was on the West Coast. He would feel guilty for having to leave Steven with a sitter at their house in another state, but it was supposed to be a one-night event. They knew that he would possibly get in the way or make some trouble inadvertently. Greg made sure to book a rental house for the evening as he was going to make the attempt to talk to her again about her problem. She had a volatile temper when it came to talking about certain things and he knew she could get loud and possibly violent. The last thing he needed was having the cops called on them and possibly exposing her problem. Truth be told, he had a thought or two about having her problem exposed in hopes of getting something done about it, but then felt guilty for even thinking that to begin with.

They made their way to the rental house after the show was over. She was smiling and enjoying the high she had from the adrenaline as it was an intense show. He was nervous, but didn’t want to distract her from that feeling. As they settled in for the night, he kept trying to avoid her eyes as he saw the sign that she was starting to come down. When she came down, all the thoughts would rush back since there wasn’t anything that could keep them pushed out of her mind.

She wandered off to the bathroom to grab the thing that could make her relax enough to get some semblance of sleep. They got into bed as it was rather late and they knew that they had to leave in the morning at a decent time.

“Greg, what’s wrong?” Rose asked as she noticed that he kept looking away from her every time she looked at him. There was a pause before he answered.

“Rose, please, you need to stop,” Greg pleaded as he looked up at the ceiling.

“Not this aga—”

“Rose, this isn’t something I want to keep talking about! Look, I love you, but I’m—”

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t keep bringing this up.” She shifted and placed her back on the headboard of the bed. A look of anger settling upon her face.

He sighed aggressively.

“If you loved me or Steven, you would stop doing this. Your use is affecting the other Gems and they’re getting more worried about it and you.” He sat up and moved next to her. “Rose, I love you, but I don’t want to see this end badly. How would I be able to explain to Steven if something hap—”

“You’re not going to have to explain anything to him as nothing will happen to me,” Rose stated harshly while cutting him off.

“Rose, stop being in fucking denial about it! We can get you help so you’re not fighting this on your own. I’m here. Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are here, for you.”

“You don’t understand any of it!” Rose screamed at him before she climbed out of bed. She walked over to the bay window to look at the ocean that the house had an overview of. “No one does,” she whispered.

Greg looked up at the ceiling then exhaled forcefully.

“I understand some of it, Rose, I do, but you’re not going to escape your mental hell until you realize that you need help.”

“You don’t understand that I have to keep this perfect—”

“Stop it, NOW!” Greg roared. He got out of the bed and approached her. He knew it was going to be a difficult fight. “I never said that you had to maintain this bullshit image you have of yourself. I’m your manager because you requested that I be and I never imposed any of these things you’ve placed upon yourself. What I don’t understand is why you felt the need to do this to yourself.”

Silence. 

It pained him to know that she couldn’t trust him enough to open up. They had been together for years and had a seven-year-old son between them. Yet, she was still full of secrets. He bared most of himself to her, but she wouldn’t do the same. He still loved her nonetheless and it appeared that she loved him just as much, but when the vice became involved, it was a different story. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her as he knew that’s the opposite of what would help and would indeed make the problem way worse than before. He just wanted her to get something done about her addiction.

“Rose, I love you with everything I am, but I’m worried that you’re not going to wake up one day because of this. You’re not going to have to be the one to have to deal with that...” he trailed off. Finding her gone one day because of it was Greg’s worst nightmare and one hoped that wouldn’t play out in real life. He embraced her from behind.

“Please...” he tearfully pleaded while burying his face into her hair, hugging her tightly. “I don’t want to lose you, Rose. None of us do.” A few sobs heaved from his chest.

She stood there silently, somewhat zoned out due to the vice taking its hold on her consciousness, but she still heard everything Greg stated. His pain, his frustration. Everything was scary to Rose. Scared about what people thought of her, scared about if their latest album/single tanked, scared that she wasn’t good enough for The Gems, for Greg, for Steven. Scared about things from her past before she met Greg. Anxiety seemed to rule her every waking thought and sometimes it would go even deeper, bringing out her insecurities about a lot of things. The vice would numb all of that and make it to where she could function and forget about her fears, her insecurities, albeit temporarily.

“Greg, please let me go,” Rose stated, monotonously. She was still staring off.

“Not until you promise me that you’re going to do something about all of this.”

“You know I can’t promise that.”

“Can’t or won’t?” He let her go then walked out of the room while wiping his eyes. He needed to leave so he wouldn’t say anything further that would make the situation even worse. He was trying to figure out if he, The Gems, and Steven meant anything to her as she kept going down the path to Hell. Why couldn’t she see it? She was able to kick the habit for a time when they found out that she was pregnant with Steven, but it only took a few weeks after he was born to go right back to it. That was some indication that she thought of someone else for a short amount of time. The pressure of being a parent added yet more fuel to the fire that constantly burned in her mind.

Greg walked outside while cursing under his breath as his frustration was mounting.

“Why can’t you see that you’re tearing me up? Oh, that’s right, you’re usually drugged out of your fucking mind!” Greg harshly whispered. “How am I going to explain to Steven that his mother’s an addict when he becomes old enough to understand some of your behaviour? I’m having to worry about all of these things while you’re in an altered sense of mind and making it to where I have sometimes to look after two children.”

“Is that how you really feel?” Rose slurred, the vice completely taking its prisoner. He didn’t hear her coming outside as his tangent drowned her out. She made him slightly jump.

“Rose,” Greg said as he turned around. “You scared me.”

“Answer me, Greg.”

“What does it matter? You’re going to do whatever you want no matter what I think. You being like this is tearing me up and it’s like I’m wasting my time.”

“Do you not want to be with me anymore?” Rose choked out as she started crying, putting her hand over her mouth. The vice made her super emotional.

“It’s not that, Rose. I don’t like talking with you when you’re like this. I don’t know how many times this scenario has played out, but it gets to be a bit tiresome when nothing changes. I’ve already voiced my concerns with you shooting me down at every turn. You’re in denial about everything and I-I—” He hesitated to finish his thought.

“You what?” He didn’t want to tell her that he didn’t like the fact that she didn’t completely trust him. He felt that there was something in her past that she didn’t want to discuss, the thing that made her turn to the pills to begin with. “What, Greg? Answer me!”

He walked past her to go back into the house since he knew she was about to raise hell. She followed him back into the house then slammed the door.

“Answer me, goddamn it!” Rose screamed at him. Greg looked away from her. “Why are you being difficult?!”

“I could ask the same of you,” Greg quietly replied. He lost the amount of times this particular scenario played out. “This is getting nowhere. I’m going to bed.”

Greg walked past her, but before getting too far, she grabbed his wrist. He turned to look at her. Streams of tears were running down Rose's face, the look of terror, of fear, in her eyes. He wanted to look away from her as it hurt him too much to see it, but he couldn’t. She pulled him to her and started bawling into his chest. A whisper sought its way through the sobs. He couldn’t make out what it was at first until he caught the few choice words of “Please don’t leave me” and "Please make it stop". There was more to it, but it was intelligible.

Greg embraced her while she cried out her aggression. It hurt so much to see Rose in this state. He just wanted to help her get better as she didn’t deserve whatever punishment she placed upon herself. During her moments of lucidity, she showed that she was genuinely happy with what she had, elated even. There were moments of happiness that showed themselves when she was with Greg, Steven, and The Gems. Her true personality was the high energy, happy, excitable one that she displayed to everyone. However, to maintain it, she had to be the focus of attention so there wouldn’t be any room for the negativity that constantly hid in the background of her mind. The intrusive thoughts didn’t have the time to manifest while she was performing since that’s what she focused her energy into. 

Greg guided her to the bed so she could lay down as he knew that when she went through these episodes, it would leave her physically and mentally exhausted. The feeling of disappointment crept into his mind while he was helping her settle in. 

He knew that he had lost... yet again.


	2. She's Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg discovers his worst nightmare.
> 
> TW: Death

The day had been somewhat busy, but not as eventful as the next day was going to be as The Gems had their music practice. It was getting late into the evening as Greg was preparing for bed. Rose had already been asleep for an hour or so at this point as she took the thing that would allow for the thoughts to clear out long enough to get to sleep. He didn’t like that she was turning to her vice more often than before. He begged and pleaded with her about cutting down, to which she replied with vulgar responses. They loved each other so much, but when the vice forced its way between them, their love was in a state of constant testing. There were more good times than bad, but the bad would leave the hardest imprint.

Greg reached out to run the back of his hand over the side of her face. Something felt off. The warmth wasn’t there and after turning on the overhead light, her light complexion turned into a shade of dark blue. Greg’s heart sank, the cold sweat immediately striking up. He placed his ear onto her chest. There was no sound. Coldness.

“No, no, no, NO!” Greg screamed as he panicked. His worst nightmare had made its way into real life. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her as an attempt to wake her up. “No, this can’t be happening! Rose, wake up! Please wake up! Why are you doing this?!”

He grabbed his phone to call Emergency Services. His hands were shaking so badly due to the adrenaline of finding the love of his life at Death’s door. It took him a few attempts before successfully making the call.

“Emergency Services, what is your emergency?” the operator answered.

“She’s not breathing, there’s no heartbeat!” Greg stated, fear lacing his voice. He was quickly pacing outside of their bedroom. “I need someone here now! Please hurry! How- I mean- There’s no way that this is happening!”

“Sir, what is your address?” He ran back into the room to see if she would possibly answer his cries.

“Rose, answer me! Wake up! Please wake up!” Greg shouted while shaking her.

“Sir, I can not send help if I do not have your address.”

“THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! ROSE, WAKE UP!”

“Sir, I need you to calm down and state your address.”

He started cursing before he was able to force out their address. It wasn’t like him to be rude, but when the love of his life was on the line, he had no patience for anything else. After getting confirmation that the EMTs were on the way, he called Garnet to relay the news to Pearl and Amethyst. He was on the edge of a meltdown.

“Hel—” Garnet answered with a yawn as she had been sleeping when Greg called.

“Garnet, it’s Rose!” Greg screamed into the phone. Garnet had to pull the phone away from her ear. “Oh, my God, it’s happened! I don’t know what to do! This has to be a nightmare, this can’t be real!”

“Greg, I’m on my way now! I’ll call the others!”

He slammed the flip phone shut then threw the phone off to the side. He felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Running his hands through his sweat drenched hair as he paced around, he tried to avoid looking at her body. He kept telling himself that it wasn't real, it couldn't be real. They were just going on about how tomorrow was going to be a busy day. 

“Goddamn it, Rose, it wasn’t supposed to be this way!” Greg raged. “How many times did we go over this and how you weren’t going to be the one to deal with Steven or The Gems?!” He walked to the bathroom and found the case that she hid her vice in. It appeared to be a makeup case enclosed in crystal. He couldn’t believe that this small thing took from him the woman he loved so much. Gripping the case hard in his hand, he was at a loss. He wasn’t sure on how to continue with his life, especially knowing that he wouldn’t be able to tell Steven of his mother’s demise, her suffering that led up to it. How could he explain something like that to a seven-year-old? It would be difficult to explain when even he didn’t know what led up to her starting the life-ending habit. It was already going to be bad enough to fight off the daily rags and their spreading of bullshit lies. To fight off the constant stream of paparazzi and media outlets wanting to know about her downfall.

He had a flashback to the night when they were at the West Coast a few weeks back, talking about this situation. Greg felt as if something started gripping his chest hard since it was if he predicted that this exact thing was going to happen, but not this soon. He held out for hope that it wouldn’t come down to this or that if it had to happen, it would happen when Steven was older so it wouldn’t be as difficult to explain or comprehend on his end.

The front door hit the wall with a loud bang as Garnet nearly shoulder charged it open. Amethyst, being the last one in, closed it behind her.

Greg looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw his tear-stricken face with the cold sweat beads accumulating at his hairline. In a fit of rage, he threw the case he had in his hand at the mirror, shattering both the case and the mirror. He then let out a frustrated scream as he did an arm sweep across the bathroom counter, knocking everything on the counter to the floor. Various containers and shards of the broken mirror littered the floor. He leaned against the wall, then slid down it while the tears began to increase. The sobs started coming out, getting deeper and rawer. He pulled on his hair as he ran his hands through his hair once more.

“Greg, are you in here?!” Garnet shouted outside the entrance of the bedroom door. Greg initially didn’t hear her, but knew something was going on. Then it clicked that someone was there and he didn’t want any of them to look at the state Rose was in.

“Don’t come in here!” Greg shouted back. “Go to the kitchen. I’m coming out to you.” He pulled himself from the floor. He felt as if his body was stone because of how heavy he felt. There were tiny slivers of the mirror stuck to his arms, which he feebly shook off. He tried to avoid looking at her body once more, but his mind wouldn’t let him look away as he closed the bedroom door. Curses were filling his mind as he walked to the kitchen to meet up with The Gems.

“She- she—” Greg choked out, not being able to continue his sentence as he started breaking down again. Garnet hugged him while tears were running down her face as well. She let him go. Greg had to steady himself on the kitchen island since he still felt like he was heavy and could collapse at any given moment. He pulled up a seat since he knew he wasn’t going to be able to stand for much longer.

“Why didn’t you stop her?” Pearl harshly asked, being shaky as she was trying to keep it together for a second. It didn’t last long as she started breaking down as well. This line stuck with Greg and was one of the reasons why their relationship was somewhat strained for years to come.

“Pearl, this is hardly the time to —”

“Garnet, she was my best friend! I lo —”

“Pearl, this is not Greg’s fault! This is not the time for us to fall apart!” Amethyst shouted.

“Let me see her!” Pearl stated with desperation in her voice.

Garnet had to restrain her from going into the bedroom as she could tell by Greg’s action of closing the bedroom door that it wasn’t something that he wanted any of them to see. Pearl collapsed to her knees and wailed out the question of “Why her?! Why Rose?!” a few times.

“This isn’t happening! We were just with her!” Pearl cried as she stood up. “Why couldn’t she stop?!”

During the panic of the situation, no one noticed Steven slowing moving down the stairs to see what the commotion was about. No one thought of Steven at that particular moment as they thought he was sleeping like he was supposed to be.

“I just... don’t understand!” Amethyst gasped as she sat up by the kitchen island, running her fingers through her hair.

“We know that this has been a problem for a while. It’s... Greg, I’m so sorry.” Garnet rubbed her eyes with her thumb and finger, pushing on the bridge of her nose while she used her spare hand to console Greg by gripping his shoulder.

“W-What am I supposed to tell Steven?” Greg gasped through tears.

Pearl paced up and down, hand covering her mouth as tears trickled down either side of her face, elbow balancing on her crossed arm. She looked up, her breathing stopping at the sight of the young boy in blue pyjamas standing in the doorway of the kitchen prodding his fingers together.

“Steven...” Pearl spoke softly, gasping at the sight of the boy.

“I-I couldn’t sleep.” Steven looked at everyone’s sad expressions, unsure what was happening that could have possibly made them so upset. Why were they so sad?

“Oh, Steven...” Pearl trembled his name once more as she immediately crouched down to hug Steven. She pulled him in tightly, her tears wetting the shoulder of his button-up shirt.

Both Greg and Amethyst sat up at the sight of Steven. They were petrified. What were they supposed to say? What were they supposed to tell him?

How did someone tell a seven-year-old that their mother had just overdosed on pills? A bad habit that had haunted her for as long as she could remember. A secret she continued to keep hidden from the rest of her band. A habit that Greg had begged her to stop. A habit that she couldn't.

It was something that none of the people within the room would have ever thought they would ever have to deal with. It was going to have been tough – but to tell Steven that he had just lost his mother was going to have been the hardest part.

Steven accepted the hug, emotionally vacant as he looked around at everyone with tears in their eyes as if something terrible had just happened. It had. Something terrible had happened that would have shaken the course of history. Within a few hours, there would be a storm of paparazzi outside the gated house, flashing cameras and the heartbroken fans who would get more of an opportunity to grieve than any of the family.

"Why is everyone crying?" Steven asked in an innocent tone, furrowing his eyebrows with concern. He didn't like seeing everyone upset, it was a sorry sight. Pearl slowly removed herself from the hug, gripping onto his shoulders.

Everyone he thought he knew at that moment couldn't formulate a response that wouldn't have hurt him. There was no way that they would have been able to come up with an answer that wasn't going to tear him apart. He was only young and something like this was going to stay with him forever. It was going to be horrendous.

Suddenly, there was a ring at the door, a buzzing that signalled that they had been let into the home through the gates by security. Greg immediately stood up, knowing that he had to be the one to go and answer the door to who he could only assume would be the first responders.

Greg rushed to the door so he could lead the responders to the bedroom as Garnet escorted Steven back to his room. He looked at the doorknob, afraid to turn it as he didn’t want to look at her again. He stepped to the side and allowed for the responders to go into the room to see if there was anything they could do before the ambulance got there. 

He knew there was no saving her at that point. The sounds of voices on the radios that the responders were confirming his worst nightmare. The love of his life was dead and there was no bringing her back. He held a sliver of hope that she would come out of this, but it was a naive thought dashed by the words “I’m sorry, Mr. Universe. She’s gone.”

The ambulance and a few cop cars showed up shortly after he heard those six words that would forever seared into his memory. Those six words that he hoped to never hear, those six words that would destroy the course of their family history. 

A stretcher with a black bag came through the front door. A sight that him, Pearl, and Amethyst hoped to never see, especially with her. It was like everything was on the verge of collapsing on itself and ready to crush him in rubble. It’s not like he would’ve felt it as numbness set in throughout his body. Everything around him seemed to be drowned out by a static noise going on in his head while he was zoning out. It was taking everything within himself to not completely break down.

A voice called out to him, trying to get his attention. It was an EMT from the ambulance that asked for him to follow them out to the vehicle so he could sign off on paperwork. The stretcher came out of the bedroom with her body in the black bag. The breath was crushed out of him knowing that she was in the bag and that she wouldn’t be returning back to their home. The tears kept constantly blurring his vision and didn’t show any sign of stopping. He slowly walked a few meters behind the person pushing the stretcher. It seemed as if he was going to the gallows as it felt just as punishing. He kept questioning a few things like why was this time any different from the other times or who did he piss off for this to become a thing?

They reached the ambulance where the EMT handed him a clipboard to sign his name. He had to wipe his eyes so he could see long enough to take the clipboard from them and sign a signature on something that he should’ve never had to sign. The tears welled up in his eyes once again as he handed the clipboard back to the EMT. He reached out to her body to touch her one last time. How could this happen? It couldn’t be real, it had to be a nightmare. He shouldn’t have to deal with this, with how to explain all of this to Steven.

“Goodbye, my love, my Rose,” he whispered with tears stinging his eyes even more than before. He stepped back and turned to go back into the house. It upset him no end that she did this to herself and left him to clean up the mess. However, he still loved her nonetheless and would still continue to love her over 16 years later. The only reason why he didn’t follow her to the afterlife was because of Steven. Steven needed Greg to stay in his life and not disappear like his mother did. The beginning of those 16 years was rough on him, but the hurt slightly faded with time. However, it would ultimately be something that would never go away.

He walked back into the house, meeting the tearful eyes of The Gems. Garnet and Amethyst moved to Greg and hugged him, the tears freely flowing. He just lost his lover/mother of his son and them, their friend, bandmate of several years. They were all racked with guilt and in the mindset of “What if?” What if we would’ve forced her to get help? What if we just held out on her? What if... what if... what if? Rose left a wave of devastation in the wake of her passing and it would only take them more time than it should’ve to have Steven understand what happened.

“I’m so sorry, Greg,” Garnet reiterated. “I don’t know what we can do now other than help with you Steven.”

“I’ll have to figure out something,” Greg stated through the tears that hadn’t stopped for the last few hours. “I’m going to have to have more security come out here quick sense it will be no time at all before people make their way here. She really left us with a mess, right?”

“I just wish that we could have done something differently,” Amethyst chimed in. “I’m not sure what we could’ve done as we all know, she always did what she wanted.”

“I don’t know how many times she and I had the same conversation with the same results during our entire relationship. I never wanted it to end like this and I know deep down that she wouldn’t have wanted this either, but she never trusted me enough to open up.”

“She wouldn’t tell us anything either, but it wasn’t until we got more exposure that she started making her problem known. She made us swear to secrecy and kept saying that she was going to give it up, but we see where that got her,” Amethyst quietly stated.

“We tried to get her to stop at that time as we knew it wasn’t as bad as it became. There were some fights that we had about it that nearly broke us up,” Garnet said softly.

Pearl didn’t want to be involved with the conversation, so she decided to go and check on Steven. Losing her best friend twice now didn’t sit well with her. It was bad enough that Rose went against her wishes eight or nine years ago and started hanging out with Greg. Now, it was really over and she was actually gone. She was still extremely bitter about Rose choosing Greg over her. She was the one that loved her well before Greg came along and still loved her after she began dating Greg, eventually making a family with him. She was convinced that Greg didn’t do enough to save her from herself which is why Pearl was stuck in this Hell. Pearl had the notion in her head that she would’ve been the one to save Rose had she just given Pearl the chance to prove she was better for her than Greg.

“Why wouldn’t you let me prove that I love you more than he ever could?” Pearl whispered as she moved up the stairs. “Why wouldn’t you let me do this for you, Rose?”


	3. You Marked the End of an Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg says one last goodbye to his lost love.

It was a week to the day of her passing. There were pink and white roses that adorned the walls of the church. There were crowds of people awaiting on the sides of the streets that led up to the church. Greg would’ve preferred if it was a private viewing, but he knew that the luxury wouldn’t be something granted. Bombardments with questions about Rose’s passing every day since with him constantly stating “No comment” was getting old well before it started. 

The media swarmed the gated house and wouldn’t leave Greg alone to grieve. Crying fans were also hanging around and made a shrine for her just outside of the entrance/exit gate. He didn’t want to leave the house, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be there. He couldn’t bring himself to return to their room since that day and started sleeping in one of the other rooms in the house. There were reminders spread throughout the house. Reminders that pained him to no end, but he couldn’t just pretend she didn’t exist. Especially when Steven kept asking about her.

He and The Gems still had problems explaining to Steven what happened to his mother. They could only explain it as that she was gone and it didn’t seem like it quite sunk in just yet. They knew that the fact would come in time when it was on the front pages of the daily rags as he was growing up. A tragic secret that only his dad and The Gems knew about, but never wanted to tell him. It was somewhat shitty that he had to find out about her horrible addiction through the media. When Steven confronted his dad about it when he was able to comprehend it, Greg finally fessed up about it. Steven struggled with the “betrayal” for years after that. It’s not as if Greg wanted to keep the information hidden, he just didn’t know how to tell him. He didn’t want Steven to think his mother was a bad person. She was just someone that went down the wrong path. An unfortunate accident that could’ve been avoided had she just listened.

Greg, Steven, and The Gems arrived at the church via limousine. There was a line of security lining either side of the street to keep her fans at bay. It was like the fans were able to grieve more than Greg and The Gems were able to since the fans weren’t the ones constantly being called and questioned. They weren’t the ones having to face what their future held without his lover, their leader, his mother. They weren’t the ones having to deal with the fallout of the band breaking up and the emotions that would lead them to all go their separate ways.

Greg chose six of the roadies to be pallbearers so he and Steven could stay together. Pearl kept insisting that she be one until Garnet talked her down as she saw Pearl becoming hysterical. Before getting out of the limousine, he adjusted Steven’s tie as Steven kept fidgeting and pulling on the knot. All five of them were wearing matching pink ties and black suits with the adults wearing blacked out sunglasses. These hid the tears cried as well as the lack of sleep throughout the past week. They also knew that there was going to be nothing but flashes of light coming from cameras, taking pictures of their every move.

“I know that this is difficult, kiddo, but let’s just get through this, okay?” Greg stated as he was still fixing Steven’s tie. Steven nodded to him as he had been quiet ever since everything went down. Steven seemed to grasp the idea that she was gone, but still wasn’t sure where she was gone to. He just knew that everyone around him was still so damn sad. He just wanted his mom to come home so that they could all be happy again. He didn't comprehend that his mom was in the casket as Greg requested that it stayed closed for the entirety of the service. The long box was something that he wasn't familiar with and couldn't make the connection.

The sound of his dad attempting to grieve was disconcerting to Steven. People wouldn’t leave him alone long enough to get a significant amount out. He never heard his dad cry before, but there wasn’t ever a reason for him to do so while Steven had been alive. Of course, Greg cried at the birth of his son, but that was a totally different emotion than what he was displaying this time. Steven wanted to approach Greg to give him a hug and comfort him like his parents did for him when he was upset about something. However, there were times that Greg grew so frustrated with the continuous calls about his lost love and the decision she made to where this situation became a reality. He would scream curses and throw things around, but he tried to hide that from Steven as well. He almost slipped up a few times before he would have to force himself to calm down.

They exited the limousine to continuous flashes and relentless questioning. Greg and The Gems were trying their damndest to keep their composure as they didn’t want to deal with their emotions being on display throughout the papers. Greg and The Gems placed Steven between them to shield him from the flashing wall of white. This wasn’t something that he should be having to experience. None of them should’ve been, but she always did what she wanted which had catastrophic consequences to everyone around her. She wasn’t here having to pick up the pieces of the shattered lives she left behind. She wasn’t having to make sure that Steven was okay when Greg could barely take care of himself. He could barely function as is, but he knew that he had to keep it together for Steven. The seven-year-old shouldn’t have to be dealing with the fallout of everything as well.

They walked into the church in silence so they couldn’t give the media anything to work with. It was already bad enough and they already knew that people were going to spread whatever shit that they could so they could cash in on her demise. Greg looked around before sitting at the front and saw some people he had never seen before. They didn’t look like the fans that were forced to stay outside, but they looked like they actually knew Rose. A flare of anger flashed through Greg as he felt that they were probably from her past before him. For all he knew, they may have been what caused the love of his life to go down the hellish and twisted path that led to her end. This was not the time or place to start anything as the situation was already bad enough.

“Hey, do you guys know some of these people?” Greg quietly asked, making sure to not catch Steven’s attention. “I know a lot of these people since they’re from different parts of the industry, but some of them seem pretty sketchy to me.”

“I do not,” Garnet replied. “I think they some of Rose’s...” She paused.

“They sure as hell don’t appear to be her friends,” Amethyst answered. Greg looked at Pearl, but she wouldn’t say anything. These people were yet something else that Rose hid, even from her.

Pearl wasn’t happy that it was yet something else she hid from her. She thought she knew Rose as they were together for most of their adult lives. She was deeply hurting at the betrayal of this, but she was making excuses for Rose so she wouldn’t have a reason to hate her. It was always someone else’s doing that Rose got into trouble Pearl would tell herself. She was in a deep state of denial about several things when it came to anything involving Rose. 

They were lovers before she met Greg, but it was nothing that was official which is why Pearl could never claim Rose as hers. Rose looked at Pearl more as a friend with benefits type of relationship, but Pearl thought it was so much more. It was as if Rose led her on unintentionally since she would still go and sleep with other men without much regard to how Pearl felt. It would lead to Pearl thinking that Rose would always come back to her as the other relationships would feel like they were a novelty and that she would move past them in a few weeks, a month at the most.

But that didn’t happen with Greg. Rose actually fell in love with him, a feeling that she had denied Pearl all of these years. At first, the relationship seemed to be the “traditional” thing of her wanting to fuck a roadie as she did in the past, but it grew to be something so much more. Pearl couldn’t vocalize how much Rose was hurting her as she knew she lost Rose to Greg after they were together well past the month that Rose normally gave the others. She thought that Rose would come back to her when she found out that she was pregnant, but it was the catalyst that permanently pulled them apart. Rose was ecstatic that she and Greg were going to be having a baby together. The baby actually made her quit her vice for a while. Something that Pearl couldn’t do. Pearl knew nothing would get through to her since she knew that Rose always did what she wanted.

The funeral started. Several people delivered eulogies of their interactions with Rose Quartz, the famous front woman of The Gems. There was laughter and tears as she touched people’s lives with her gentle and energetic personality. She demonstrated throughout her life that everyone mattered and made sure to let them know that. It was rather ironic that she wouldn’t allow herself the same treatment. She never felt to be deserving enough for it. No one outside of Greg and The Gems knew that she was suffering so the speeches accentuated the shock and grief that came with her passing. Apologies went to Steven and Greg from the myriad of people that knew her throughout the time as well since it was very upsetting to know that a seven-year-old boy was without one of his parents and Greg without her to raise him.

Steven stayed quiet during the time people were delivering eulogies about his dead mother. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. He just wanted his mother to come home so all of this would blow over and no one would be sad anymore. He thought she would’ve come home by now since it wasn’t uncommon for her to be gone a few days at a time. However, he would hear his dad call her and sound somewhat upset that she was gone for a few days, but the calls never lasted more than a minute and he couldn’t really make out what they were speaking about. He tugged on Greg’s sleeve to get his attention.

“What is it, Steven?” Greg spoke through his voice cracking.

“I’ve seen some of these people before, but who are they?” Steven asked quietly while pointing in the direction of the unfamiliar people that caught Greg’s attention beforehand. Greg had to pause for a moment before answering as he wasn’t sure on how to answer it. It was difficult to answer a question that he knew nothing about, but then again, he wasn’t sure on how to explain a lot of things right now.

“I don’t know, son. I think they’re people that your mom knew before her and I got together.” Greg’s jaw flexed, unconsciously. Steven noticed and decided to stop asking about it as he took that as a universal sign that his dad was getting upset. He had seen the jaw flex in the past. He knew that trouble usually followed, but Steven never saw what followed exactly as his dad would ask him to go and play somewhere else with irritation slightly lining his voice.

Greg and The Gems surprised the crowd when all four of them declined to say anything about Rose as they were the ones that were the closest to her. They were all grieving as much as they could, which wasn’t much as they were constantly hearing the same questions that were related to her demise. These questions didn’t sit well with any of them. How could they answer questions about someone’s overdose? How could they not tarnish a legacy of someone that showed herself as having the perfect life with the answers they knew? It was just better off if they just closed themselves off and leave it a mystery. Well, leave it a mystery until the information leaked about how she died a few weeks after funeral when the autopsy reports returned with the results. People were desperate to find out and did whatever they could to find the answer. It was as if the people felt like she was their family and got their closure while Rose left those the closest to her with a hole that would never heal.

The funeral was now moving to the cemetery. Greg stood up and picked up Steven se he could carry him out of a concealed exit so they could get back to the limousine. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl followed him through the exit as well. They rode in silence to the cemetery as it was only going to be the five of them at the private mausoleum. They needed to be alone with her and did whatever they could do so. The limo pulled up to the gated cemetery and parked outside the place of her final interment. 

Greg sighed before a few sobs escaped him. He pulled off his sunglasses and placed his eyes in his hands. Steven undid his seatbelt so he could move to comfort Greg. Why is comforting the adults falling onto him? Weren’t they the ones that were supposed to comforting him and telling him things would be better? Steven hugged his dad as Greg broken down even more. Garnet was glad that she kept her glasses on as she exited the limo so she could have some of the tears escape without adding to what could be presumed as Steven’s guilt. His guilt for not being able to make them happy without her being there. Pearl and Amethyst followed Garnet with a quickness so they could allow Steven and Greg to be together for a few minutes.

After a few minutes, Steven stepped out with Greg following behind him as he placed his glasses back on. They waited until they put her casket into the wall before going into the mausoleum. They approached her spot and just stared at it. This had been the quietest it had been in a week as the resting place was far into the cemetery and there was security everywhere. This was their last chance with her and everyone else be damned if they were going to take that away from them. The media and fans took away what little the vice didn’t already take.

Greg approached the light pink casket and placed his hand on the end facing him. So many thoughts raced through his head. Thoughts of bitterness, thoughts of borderline hatred for doing this to him. Guilt entered his mind and pushed back the bad thoughts and replaced them with some of the times they shared. They had so many adventures and mishaps together. They shared several steamy nights that led to them waking up next to each other, her giggling waking him up as she watched him sleep. There was no one else that would ever come close to what they had together. A slight smile came across his lips. The first smile since that day a week before.

Greg stepped back to allow for the other Gems to stay with her for a bit. He walked outside to give them space. He was trying to figure out where to go from here, what to do with Steven. Even though Garnet offered to help with Steven, he knew that with the way things were going, it wasn’t going to be something that he could rely on. He saw was happened to the bands that lost their front person and he knew that this situation wasn’t going to be any different. Especially given the past he had with one of the members. He knew that Pearl resented him for taking Rose away from her even though he didn’t have much say in the matter. Rose was the one that professed her love to him.

“Greg, would you like to spend the last few minutes with her?” Garnet asked, her voice wavering. “We got Steven so you can be alone with her.” Greg nodded at her. He walked to the limo to grab something out of the backseat. After retrieving the item, he went back to her casket and removed his sunglasses to put into the suit pocket. He placed his hand where it was previously. Tears welled up in his eyes once again.

“So this is it, my love,” Greg whispered with his voice cracking. “I’ve decided to take Steven and leave. I’m already seeing The Gems breaking up and possibly going their separate ways. We both know that I could get along with Garnet and Amethyst, but Pearl, oh boy, where do I start on that one?” 

He chuckled quietly as him and Rose had discussed Pearl’s not-so-hidden or not-so-innocent feelings towards her. Rose wouldn’t tell him that her and Pearl had slept together before him and she knew that Pearl had unresolved feelings that Rose would only reciprocate physically. However, that all stopped when she started seeing Greg and stayed faithful to him during their entire relationship. Pearl tried to do a few things to sabotage their relationship, but it failed.

“I love you with everything I am and I will do what I can with our son,” he continued. “As much as it hurts to say this, it’s good that you’re free from your mind and you’re no longer in pain.” He started breaking down again. “But you’re an asshole for transferring your pain to me. To Steven. He has no fucking idea what’s going on and I can’t really explain anything without making it sound like you were a bad person.” He paused to breathe so he could gain control over his emotions again.

“You weren’t a bad person, just someone that got stuck in a place so bad that you thought no one could help you. I still don’t understand why you would think that of yourself. You were the best thing that ever happened to this lowly roadie. Even with bad times, I knew you still loved me as I have you.”

He placed the item in the small space above the casket, then put his sunglasses back on.

“This is our last goodbye, Rose.” Greg turned to the entrance and walked out.

A single pale rose was his final parting gift. 


End file.
